Rising rents. Stagnant wages. Homelessness. Gentrification. Today's big stories in Los Angeles have a common thread: a gap in social and economic equity. A report found that L.A. has the 7th highest level of income inequality in the country.

John Ridley, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of “12 Years a Slave” continues to tackle subjects that are relevant to today’s America. The unstoppable Ridley is now working on a comic book sequel, “The American Way: Those Above and Those Below.”

Blossom Trail | KCET

Blossom Trail

The program opens on the Blossom Trail in Fresno County, our state's agricultural heartland. Walk through the quaint and historic farming community of Reedley to the Mennonite Quilt Center and watch volunteers make beautiful quilts. Huell also savor the Armenian delicacy, keyma, one of the specialties of Uncle Harry's Restaurant, a local landmark. And deal yourself in on the world's longest running pinochle game going on daily at the Camden Cafe.

Huell gets a tour of the largest wooden buildings in the world, the vast blimp hangars at the U.S. Marine Air station at Tustin. He then travels to the Seabee Naval Museum at Port Hueneme and the Marine Base at Camp Pendelton, to get a firsthand look at the history of an honest-to-goodness military institution-the quonset hut.

Huell gets a taste of history as he visits two families who have turned their crops into empires. He visits both the olive orchards in the San Joaquin Valley and processing plant of the Graber family in Ontario, where for a century workers have prepared Graber Olives in almost the same way. Huell then travels to Orange Country to learn how the world- famous Knott's Berry Farm amusement park grew out of one woman's home cooking.

Huell travels to two significant but little-known places in California. First he gets a tour of the fields of Camp Pendelton, near San Diego, where for a period in the mid-1970s thousands of Vietnamese refugees lived in a large tent city-their first stop after fleeing their war torn homeland. Next, Huell visits the Sherman Institute High School, an off-reservation boarding school for Native Americans that has educated students for almost a century.

Huell finds out how oil made Kern County great, visiting the vast Midway-Sunset Field which is the top oil-producing field in the lower 48 states and the West Kern Oil Museum in Taft, which has one of the last huge wooden derricks in existence. Huell's last stop is the site of the Lakeview Gusher, which at the turn of the century was the largest gusher in the United States.

Huell tours Folsom Prison, which for well over a century has housed some of our state's toughest characters and gets a rare look inside this landmark prison. He visits Folsom's first death row, the chapel-which contains what has to be one of the most unusual paintings of " The Last Supper," the historic "China Hill," and the seldom-seen prison graveyard, final resting place for generations of prisoners.

Huell learns about tidepools on a trip to San Diego. He is joined by biologists and other experts who introduce him to the marine animals and plants that find a home in the harsh conditions of the intertidal zone.

Whether for taking in the waters or taking in the sun, California beaches have long been a destination for vacationers and locals alike. That much hasn't changed, but what has changed dramatically is what both men and women wear to the beach. Huell is joined by a Hollywood costume designer to find out how California culture, especially movies, influence what people wear to the shore everywhere. And who better to talk about bathing suits than Esther Williams? Huell interviews the "Million Dollar Mermaid" poolside.

California has many defining icons, but few sum it all up like swimming pools. In this episode Huell tours five historic pools which have all played an important part in our State's history. Starting in L.A. at the pool at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel painted by famous artist David Hockney and the Olympic pool at the L.A. Coliseum, site of the 1932 Olympic games, Huell travels north to the stunning " Neptune Pool" at Hearst Castle and finishes up at two great lost pools in San Francisco, the Sutro Baths and the Fleishhacker pool. Put on your water wings and jump on in.

The first on the entire west coast, with 142 years of service to our nation, the Mare Island Naval Shipyard has been a long time builder of California's naval gold. Join Huell as he takes us on one of the last tours of the base which is to be closed due to military downsizing. He also visits with former workers who show him the dry dock building slips of ancient battleships and modern nuclear subs, a sailors graveyard, the tree-lined streets of "Officer's Row", and the first naval chapel on the west coast.

Welcome to Suisun Bay home to one of the strangest fleets of ships you'll ever see, the "Mothball Fleet". Hundreds of ships all chained together, from tub to tanker, from Victory to cruiser, these ships are part of our National Defense Reserve Fleet. Come aboard with Huell as he tours some of these historic ships harking back to our state's - and our nation's naval past.

Huell visits a dry lake bed in the Mojave desert that is so hard and so gigantic that it is the site of Edwards Air Force Base and a landing strip for the Space Shuttle. In the 1920's and 30's it was also used by hot-rodders from all over Southern California as a speed trails course for their fast cars. Muroc Dry Lake has remained off- limits since WWII, until recently when the Air Force re-opened the dry lake bed, inviting back all the old-timers for a weekend of racing. Thousands of car enthusiasts showed up for this historic event.

Huell goes in search of two animals found in our state today which aren't supposed to be here. First, he travels to Catalina Island in search of historic buffalo - the descendants of fourteen which were brought over from the mainland for a silent movie shot in 1924. Next, Huell travels to Ft. Tejon State Historic Park between Bakersfield and Los Angeles, in search of camels used during the 1850's by the U. S. Army in hopes of developing improved transportation across the arid west. It was dubbed the "great camel experiment" and was a bizarre chapter in our states history book.

It's the oldest Japanese-style garden in the United States. Located in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, the Japanese Tea Garden has been part of that city's landscape for over one hundred years. In this episode of "California's Gold" host Huell Howser strolls through the serene garden enjoying its paths and bridges and flowering cherry trees. Huell also learns of the garden's rich history from descendants of the original Japanese family who at one time lived on and cared for the grounds.

Huell travels to the Tehachapi Mountains to visit The Cesar Chavez Foundation. Set on 187 acres, the buildings where once home to a tuberculosis hospital and then it's where Cesar lived and labored during his last quarter century as he fought for better rights for migrant workers. Now the Center is a carrying on Cesar's dream and welcomes visitors to learn about this important chapter in our states history. Huell gets a very special and personal tour of the Center from Cesar's son Paul.

The morning of April 12, 1859 started like most other mornings for the miners working the Willard Claim on the West Branch of the Feather River just across the canyon from Dogtown. The men were hard at work washing the mountain away with the force of water pressure using the hydraulic mining technique. Then, as Chauncy Wright, one of the hired hands, bent over to pick up what he at first considered to be just another rock, he made a discovery that would end up in the record books. Because on that morning, Chauncy and his fellow miners uncovered a 54 pound gold nugget!

John Gaughan is a magician who designs and builds spectacular illusions for big-name magic acts and stage effects for rock musicians. He's also devoted many years to collecting and restoring vintage magic devices dating back to the 18th century. Gaughan has been in the same workshop for 35 years and two of his employees have worked with him for 25 years.

Situated in the Oakland Hills, with sweeping views of the Bay Area, Joaquin Miller Park contains one of the only urban second growth redwood groves in existence. It is named for Miller," Poet of the Sierras, who settled in the hills above the "City of Oaks."

There's nothing quite as exciting as uncovering a hidden treasure! And that's exactly what we did as we visited one of our smallest and least-known state parks. Located on the rocky, windswept coast of Sonoma County in Northern California, this entire park is only 60 feet in circumference and goes over 100 feet in the air! It's been mysteriously perched there since 1970 and leaves the visitor with more questions than answers. Join Huell as he learns about the Bufano Peace Statue.

Join Huell as he hops over to the Pasadena home of Candace Frazee and Steve Lubanski, who have turned their house into The Bunny Museum. The space is filled with over 21,000 rabbit collectibles: furniture, light fixtures, kitchenware, toiletries, books, and games. The icing on the cake? There are seven real (litter box-trained) bunnies lounging around their house.

Huell travels to Norco and tours the magnificent but now abandoned Norconian Hotel. In the mid 1920's, Rex B. Clark, an unmatched visionary of his time, accomplished the near impossible by constructing the world-class Norconian Resort in a remote area of Southern California. The Norconian was an immediate success and frequented by the rich elite and Hollywood's finest. Unfortunately, the Club never made a nickel as the Stock Market crash and subsequent economic depression forced Clark to give up his dream after a ten year fight. The story didn't end there.

Located in Riverside, California Citrus State Historic Park recaptures the days when "Citrus was King" in California. The design of the park is reminiscent of a 1900s city park and includes an activity center, amphitheater, interpretive structure and demonstration groves. The land within the park still continues to produce high-quality fruits, too.

Named in honor of Augustus F. Hawkins, who represented South Central Los Angeles from 1963 to 1991 in the U.S. House of Representatives, Augustus F. Hawkins Natural Park provides open space serenity in the heart of Los Angeles. It was once a cement pipe storage yard and is now an 8.5-acre state-of-the-art natural park which hosts numerous interpretive and learning programs. Join Huell as he visits the park and some eager Junior Rangers.

It's creepy crawly day on "Visiting With Huell Howser." Huell stops by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County during the 22nd Annual Bug Fair -- the largest event of its kind in North America. We explore the world of insects and get close-up looks at spiders and scorpions, butterflies and bats. Over 60 vendors were on hand with entomological equipment and supplies, artwork, toys, and more.

Huell visits one of our state's most scenic and important State Parks. China Camp State Park is located right on San Francisco Bay and is the last remaining example of the numerous Chinese fishing villages that once dotted the shoreline. Not only does he walk through the quaint village and learn about its colorful history, but he sails out on the Bay in a recently constructed replica of an early Chinese junk. History is so fragile and this is a fine example of how we are preserving it for further generations.

Join Huell as he uncovers two remarkable, little-known Los Angeles treasures. First, we stop at the site of the first Koyasan Temple for a ceremony designating the Aoyama Tree as a Los Angeles Landmark. Then Huell stops in at beautiful Franklin Canyon Park, only to find that it's allegedly "the center of Los Angeles" itself. The tree is just across from the Japanese American National Museum and about a block from the Koyasan Buddhist Temple.

Frank Lloyd Wright accelerated the search for L.A.'s authentic architecture. This episode explores the provocative theory that his early homes in L.A. were also a means of artistic catharsis for Wright.